Replacing Pre. What to look for?

Well, my Pre finally hit the wall. The speaker blew out. (BTW - for some reason, when I have headphones plugged in, the speakerphone emits a very loud notification when I receive texts. I think this is what blew it. Oh, this was a launch-day Pre.

Anyways, I took it to Sprint and they ordered me a new one. If anyone has gone through this process, help me out with a checklist.

-What things should I check the new phone for because it is probably a refurb.?
-How should I restore my contacts? Update to 1.3.1 first?
-Do I need to remove anything from my phone?
-Is there a way to get my pictures off of it? USB mode?
-anything I'm missing?


Oh one more thing, I saw a model Pre in Sprint. It had a sliver center button instead of the clear LED one. Are the newer Pre's coming with a non-LED center button?

Well a refurb is usually better anyways if your phone was messed up, from what i hear alot of the first ones were bad. Contacts will restore themselves when you activate your new phone, and as far as pictures you'd have to take them off the phone via usb mode on the computer if your phone is still functional

ya, its still functional. I'm just worried about losing my contacts like I heard happened to alot of people after the 1.3.1 update.

And, I want an LED center button. I like LED notifications.

I have seen people go through refurbs quickly. Sometimes 5 before they get a good one. I guess I'll just hope for the best. If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it.