The only part that's really being used in the CPU, memory, and sensors. New batteries are installed and new radios and antennas are used bypassing all the on-phone radio equipment. This really is nothing more than a way to hype up a not so useful project. There are dozen of short to medium life cubesats that are launched every year with off the shelf components.

You have a point about the phone being kind of a red herring. Here's a link to the larger CubeSat program:

http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/home/CubeSats_initiativ...

There is significant interest in these small units (10cm on a side, but combinable up to 6 units) on the part of universities. Here's a list of the upcoming launches:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-073

I think that within NASA CubeSats are regarded with limited interest. The conventional route for a new satellite measurement from the lab to space is via airborne, or in some cases balloon-borne, experiments. That's how, say, new radar, lidar, hyperspectral imaging, etc., technologies are proven. Lab bench, field experiments, airplane, space.

The CubeSat program is awesome for universities. There are also lots of launch opportunities from the Chinese, Indians, and Russians. Just yesterday there were a couple university sponsored CubeSats that where launched on a Chinese rocket.

http://amsat-uk.org/2013/04/26/ham-radio-cubesats-successful...

I neglected the international angle. Thanks for that.

The camera is also being used (OK that's technically a sensor...)