We’ve just confirmed from an Asus rep (which wished to remain anonymous) that the Google Nexus 7 will be sold locally soon. Before you all celebrate, there’s a catch – it seems that they will only be selling the 16GB version of the device and not the 8GB version that is going to be sold in the US for $199 (about Php 8338). And since we’re already talking about price, here’s another catch – the 16GB version may be priced higher than the promised $250 (about 10 475) price tag that it carries in the US for a simple reason – subsidy. According to our source, Google subsidizes the cost of the device in the US, as the company will primarily make money from the sales of content (like movies, TV shows and magazines) in their Google Play store, something that’s not available for customers outside of the US.
If you remember, a teardown of the device by TechInsights estimates that it cost $185 to make an 8GB version of the device, and about $194 to make the 16GB version. In contrast, Apple’s new iPad (32GB with LTE) cost $375.10 to make and sells it at retail for $729, nabbing the company a larger, $354 profit. It makes sense for Asus to raise prices to recoup costs, as they’re not exactly a charity. As a direct result, you can expect the Nexus 7 to be sold at a higher price here even after taxes and all that. If we had to guess, you’ll probably end up shelling out around Php 12,500 to 14,500 – which is still pretty cheap considering the prices of other devices.