Blackberry Pearl buttons?

I bought a Blackberry Pearl yesterday and i was wondering if it's true that the buttons start to deteriorate and not work in about 2 weeks. i'd like to hear from someone who has this phone for more than 2 weeks or has seen this happen. Please i'm really worried i bought a crappy phone!!

I have been using it for almost an year now and its working perfectly fine....but dont forget to keep it in a case........it chips if it falls!