The iPad definitely needs more RAM though. Whenever I use it, I quickly get annoyed by Safari/Chrome reloading pages and background apps disappearing due to OOM.

This doesn't seem to happen on iOS7. Note that I know it must happen but however they are doing it/hiding it it doesn't bother me as much.

I never considered video editing a key application for my mobile telephone. Even with the camera, I would expect to take the video on the phone, and edit it elsewhere.

You'd be amazed. You can shoot, edit, and post an entire short movie from your phone, without involving any larger device. I have done it myself.

Another way to look at it: if you're not rendering video ... I think we've reached the point where faster (benchmarked) hardware adds little to no functional benefit. So why upgrade?

The iPhone is not a mobile telephone.

Then what is it exactly?

I have an iPhone, it makes a pretty great mobile telephone!

A widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone and a breakthrough internet communications device. An iPod … a phone … and an internet communicator. An iPod, a phone … are you getting it?

It's still a phone, even if it does all of those other things.