Solid State Drives (SSD) will soon one day replace hard disk mechanical drives as the go-to source for local storage, but with the prices being so high compared to normal hard disk drives which are cheaper than a bag of Skittles, that day won't be today. But it's getting ever so closer. If you want to get solid state drives on the cheap, you might want to consider taking a trip to Japan, the land of the Rising Sun.

Spotted in the land of the Rising Sun is a 1 terabyte Kingmax solid state drive that only cost $1500, the cheapest of any 1 terabyte SSD we have ever seen. Compared to OCz's Octane 1 terabyte model, Kingmax is cheaper and inferior when it comes to overall specifications, hence why it is going for little under $1500. Make no mistake though, it may be slower in performance than the Octane 1 terabyte, but still is faster than any mechanical hard disk drive on the planet, and that should be what is most important.

The Kingmax SSD is capable of pulling off up to 250MB/s read speed, and 200MB/s write speed, while operating at a voltage of DC 5V +/-5%. Not the best we've seen with a SSD before, but for the price, who can actually sit here and complain? $1500 for a terabyte drive is a massive steal for consumers, well, at least for the ones who can afford it. If the trend continues to go like this, it won't be too long before solid state drives are in the realm of the mainstream consumer.

We know you're happy to hear such good news, but we are about to burst the happy bubble. So brace yourselves: Kingmax hasn't announced any plans to launch this device outside of Japan. We hope the company makes the right decision here, but if doesn't then we suggest importing. With such a price tag, it wouldn't be too long for some Japanese company on eBay to begin listing the Kingmax 1 terabyte SSD for sale, and who knows, the price might even be cheaper if lady luck looks favorably on you.

(reported by Vamien McKalin, edited by Dave Clark)