The 8520 was released in August 2009 and is running software that is two versions behind the latest available, with no way of upgrading. In addition to this, it was designed to be a budget handset when it was first released, never mind now - so the specifications are, to put it mildly, poor.
In answer to your question, no, I would not recommend buying a blackberry. I wouldn't even recommend one of the latest models. Unless you want BBM, the OS offers few advantages to the other big players at the moment, but many disadvantages (lack of apps, poor UI etc.).
The 8520 will be slow, and generally provide a terrible smartphone experience.
However, given that you don't like touch screens, your phone options using a 'modern' OS are very limited (basically none).
There are a few Android phones which come with a keyboard in addition to a touch screen - The Samsung Galaxy Pro and HTC ChaCha being examples of phones that have a similar form factor to the Blackberry Curve.