as mentioned above, (on a computer not the phone) log into your google account, go to gmail, go to contacts, make sure all the contacts you want are in there, if not add them there. then when you set up your google account on the charge they will all come back, and if you add a contact on the phone later, make sure you choose the type as "google" instead of "phone" or anything else, then you will always have your contacts no matter what
as far as apps, you are better off just making a list of what apps you really wanted to keep and just reinstall from the market, using Titanium Backup to go across phones can lead to problems and is not advised by me and i use it regularly.....it's not a big deal, spend a couple hours with your new phone installing what you want. it will help you get to know your new phone better anyways. if you go to the market and hit the menu button on your phone and go to "my apps" you will get at least a partial list of apps you have installed before or purchased before, it's a good place to start