Nexus 7 (2013) Arrives in Singapore

ASUS has announced the availability of the 2nd generation Nexus 7 in Singapore from 21 September. It will be available from ASUS brand stores and authorised retailers at S$379 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model. It’s rather pricey, considering that it sells for US$229 in the U.S., and even after shipping costs, should not exceed US$245 (approx S$320).

The price disparity also occurred with the first generation Nexus 7 sold in Singapore. It’s disappointing to say the least, and for many people, it’s going to be much more attractive to ship in the tablet themselves. You don’t even have to pay GST.

While the Wi-Fi model is only just arriving on our shores, the U.S. is now seeing the availability of the 4G LTE model. The 32GB model with 4G LTE sells for US$349. Sounds like a reasonable price to me. For comparison, the Apple iPad Mini 32GB with 4G LTE sells for US$559.

The new Nexus 7 has many improvements over the old one. It’s just very slightly taller (200 vs 198.5 mm), but slimmer (114 vs 120 mm), thinner (8.65 vs 10.45 mm) and lighter (290 vs 340 g). The new display resolution at 1920×1200 with a 323 dpi pixel density is awesome. You now get both front and rear-facing cameras, and Qi-compatible wireless charging.

Furthermore, the new Nexus 7 actually costs less than the old one too. Along with the slew of hardware upgrades and overall design improvements, I think this 2013 Nexus 7 is a pretty good buy. If you don’t already have an Android tablet, or any tablet at all (highly unlikely I’d guess), you should seriously give this lots of consideration.

But, of course, the official retail price in Singapore is too high. I’d suggest to either import it yourself, or find an alternate online source.