Thanks to leaks from multiple retailers, it’s clear the Nexus 7 will be available September 3 in France. At first only the 16 GB model should be released. The tablet will be sold in multiple retail stores such as Fnac, Darty and Boulanger. It may indicate a larger move by Google that it may start selling the Nexus 7 in other European countries in September.
Fnac.com indicates a retail price of €249.90 ($312, sales tax included). The same model is available for $249 on the Google Play store with $25 of credit to buy digital content.
As the popular product sold out on the Google Play Store in the U.S. and the UK, the demand should be high in France. Online orders on those retailers’ websites might be a good choice. Pre-orders may start before the release date.
Jérôme Colombain, journalist at the radio station France Info, hinted at the release on his Twitter account. But the major leak comes from Fnac’s website. It started accepting pre-orders by mistake. The retailer later removed the pre-order link while stating that pre-orders were not canceled. A customer service representative admitted to Les Ardoises that the release date is September 3.
Materiel.net, an ecommerce website, published a rant on his website against Google. The online retailer was not chosen by Google as an official retailer. In a French spirit, it opted for an alternative solution in order to dispute that decision. They will sell the device at its retail price without raking in profit, probably by buying tablets through its competitors.
According to PCWorld, retailers need to have physical stores to be able to sell the Nexus 7 in France. Google may be trying to entice buyers to buy through the Google Play Store to improve the razor-thin margins on the device.
Even if the Nexus 7 is off to a messy start in France, it is a sign that Google is bringing the device as quickly as possible to continental European countries, before a potential introduction of the iPad Mini by Apple. Spanish and Italian retailers should start selling the tablet in September as well, according to rumors heard by El País in Spain and a Facebook post by Asus Italia — Asus manufactures the Nexus 7 for Google. It won’t be surprising if Google starts rolling out the device in Germany as well.
Update: A Saturn sales clerk told Androidnext that the 16 GB Nexus 7 will be available September 3 in Germany for €249.