Google’s Nexus 7 available for preorder in Taiwan ahead of mid-September launch

Quietly hitting France, Germany and Spain last week, Google’s Nexus 7 tablet will soon go on sale in Taiwan, following an announcement by manufacturing partner ASUS that the device will go on sale in the country.

FocusTaiwan reports that the country’s top three operators — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications — have started taking pre-orders. Taiwan Mobile has made it the 16GB model available for a price of TW$8,990 ($300) with a set of free headphones and free shipping as part of its promotion.

Taiwanese consumers will pay roughly $50 more than their US counterparts, mainly due to a consumption tax which is levied in some European and Asian countries.

While Google and ASUS haven’t commented on when the tablet will launch, Taiwan Mobile’s product listing suggests orders will begin shipping on September 12, with only the 16GB model available. This matches Google’s sales strategy in its original launch countries, where the search giant offered both the 8GB and 16GB models on its Google Play website and retail partners offering just the 16GB unit.

Earlier, we reported that Google may be looking to offer a 3G-enabled variant of the Nexus 7, possibly aimed at heading off competition from Amazon and even Apple, which are also said to be preparing the launch of new 7-inch tablet devices.

Google hasn’t updated its Nexus 7 availability page at the time of writing and it is not yet known whether Taiwan will be included in a wider Asia launch. However, Taiwan is the home of ASUS, so a limited Asia launch could be on the cards.