I have had several Blackberry's (starting with black and white screens). I have had a pearl. I liked the size of the phone but I always dropped it. Went through two of them. I had a Curve. Gave the curve to my wife and went back to a 8700c. I love the track wheel. I love that it is stable and reliable. The phone just works for everything I do. I wish it had more memory for holding pictures. Other than that I really enjoy the 8700c.
I bought a 8700 for $30 recently as a backup for my Curve. It's a solid device, especially with 4.5 loaded on there. The keyboard is a pleasure to type on. The keys are much easier to depress than my Curve.