You should do a backup before updating or you do have to reinstall things. Since you are new at this it's not bad to get some extra experience anyway, I think.
You could have just gone to Settings > About product.
That would give you quite a bit of information.
The latest firmware as of now is PR1.1.1, or 3.2010.02-8.002
EDIT: And as far as I know, updating the firmware using NSU (?) or the Flasher will erase your settings, contacts, and application list. That's what the Backup application is for.
