inflation - chip, CHEAP

'Inflation? Well... iPad 2 costs the same'

that's always the case for the semiconductor/electronic sector.

when he was in college, the lecturer told them, "why you want to be an engineer? you are going to work yourself out of job. radio transistor cost $100 ten years ago, and now, it's only $5..... the price of everything in this world has only one direction to go, ie UP, only the price of electronic commodities goes down over time."

now, he understood well what his lecturer was trying to say.

the question:

how do you keep reducing prices over time? isn't the cost of things going up all the time? dies, gold wire, substrate, equipment...... manpower, energy..... premises, transport.....

so they go to 12" wafer, 28nm channel-length technology, copper wire, wafer-level packaging, multisite testing...... go to china, to vietnam.... g

how long can it go on like this?

for as long as it's chip - CHEAP!