By Claire Reilly

Following the unveiling of the new Nexus 7 tablet at Google’s international developer conference in San Francisco last week, the tablet’s manufacturer, Asus, has announced local pricing and availability for the product.

At launch, the Google-branded tablet was priced at $299 for the 16GB model, with models only available for purchase through Google’s dedicated online device, content and app store, Google Play.

However, Asus today announced that the 16GB Google Nexus 7 will be available in “late July” for RRP $319.

The device will be sold in a range of “major Australian retailers including Harvey Norman, JB Hi Fi, Dick Smith, Bing Lee, The Good Guys, Retravision, Radio Rentals, Officeworks, EB Games, Costco, BSR and authorised ASUS resellers”.

The 16GB tablet will be distributed by Synnex and Dicker Data. At this stage, no information is available on local availability of the 8GB model (RRP $249 on Google Play)

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At launch, Current.com.au reported that the online-only sale strategy for the Nexus 7 left retailers out in the cold, with local stores unable to capitalise on sales of a low price-point Android alternative to the iPad, backed by a well-known brand.

While today’s announcement will be welcome news to retailers, consumers who walk into their local bricks and mortar store will still pay more than tehy would online.

In response to enquiries about pricing of the device and whether bricks and mortar retailers would be disadvantaged by the price differential, Asus provided the following response:

“The RRP of AU$319 for the 16GB Google Nexus 7 takes into account the costs associated with shipping the device to Australian stores,” said an Asus representative. “We believe this is great value and provides Australian consumers with the convenience of being able to purchase the 16GB Google Nexus 7 from their local store.”