well i got it form ATT and the sales guy was kinds sleazy, so anyway ive got a feeling he sold me a refurbished one, cause the removable clear plastic coating lookied like it was peeled off before, but he reassured me they dont sell refurbished in the stroes? is that true? how can i tell if it is refurbished??

and my other question is, the buttons seem very flimsy, like rubbery, and my friend has same phone from Tmoble and its not like that. is that normal?? thanx a lot guys!

You would think that somewhere, someone (RIM, perhaps?) has a way to look up a phone by its IMEI/PIN and tell which network it is currently registered to and any past network(s) it has been registered to.

That being said, I don't know if such a database exists or, if it did, if or how you could get access to it. Have you tried calling AT&T customer service and see what they say?

As for the keys, I would not describe mine as "rubbery" at all. The keystrokes are very crisp.

Those crooks @rim, charge to talk to u, even on a brand new device, NO SUPPORT

The Pearl from AT&T and the Pearl from Tmobile do look slightly different. My friend got his from AT&T and the key pad is different and feels different to me as well.