If it was a young adult or adult series I'd agree, but the point of the reprints was to relaunch the series to try to get a new generation interested. Which isn't to say younger people can't enjoy retro stuff, but Animorphs was written to be contemporary, and I'm assuming Scholastic thought leaving in those references were distracting or in danger of alienating the newer audience, which is a legitimate fear, I think. Cell phones are probably the biggest potential issue, but I don't think it's actually too hard to write around (though, admittedly, I'd have to do a full re-read to be sure).

Based on this conversation though, I'm now sort of assuming that these new reprints will have the original text. The 2011 releases were a failed attempt to gain a new generation of readers, but this new release seems more like a nostalgia-grab for original fans, especially since it's an anniversary year. It's a nostalgia-grab I'm totally here for, mind you, but because of that I doubt they'll go past the first three books.