The pulse does not get OTA updates, despite non-uk non-pulse owners suggesting that it may.
I've had mine for 10 months now, and it's been great. I highly recommend going with a custom ROM, as it will run quicker that the current software. There are some bugs with the stock ROM that get annoying very quickly, and I personally prefer the stock behaviour that the 2 roms I've used have.
I did wait 3-4 months before upgrading, but I've never looked back since then, and a custom ROM is currently your only way of getting 2.1, as T-Mobile have taken off the update until they've fixed it. No idea what was wrong with it, never used it personally, didn't like the pink
