Fresh news from Taiwan appears to indicate that Google and Asus will release the rumoured Nexus 7 2 on July 31 with a significant price jump from the previous build, leapfrogging from $199 20 $299.

The Taiwanese publication Economic Daily, according to RBMen, revealed late this week that the second Nexus 7 is indeed set for unveiling this month but with a twist that somehow could cause disappointment among the Android fans eagerly monitoring the tablet's 2013 arrival.

The stock Android slate will reportedly be $100 pricier from its predecessor or cheaper only by $30 in the event Apple would decide to price the iPad Mini 2 at $330, keeping the same price point when the first iPad Mini was rolled out in Q4 2012.

No explanation was offered for the alleged Nexus price hike though this serves as the second indication that Google is opting for a more realistic pricing on its hardware products. The first rumoured Nexus 7 2 price adjustment is a not too-steep $20 climb for a retail point of $220.

Now the question begs: Will this supposed pricing model clip consumers' enthusiasm for the Android device touted as the first tablet to carry Jelly Bean 4.3? With only a few dollars separating Nexus 7 2 from the iPad Mini 2, will buyers turn their attention instead on Apple's small tablet, said to run the final iOS 7 build on release date?

Per reports that have been circulating for weeks, the price jump makes sense as Google and Asus are deploying top-notch components with the 7-inch tablet to match the so-called killer features of the 7.9-inch Mini 2.

It will draw power from a quad-core Snapdragon 600 (or even Snapdragon 800) CPU to fire up a Full HD screen that supposedly will outmatch the Mini 2's Retina display panel. It also has a complete mix of camera snappers, 5MP on rear and 1.2MP on front with up to 32GB of internal storage plus super-speed access to wireless broadband thanks to the on-board LTE chip.

Yet what appears as the biggest turn-on is the likelihood that Google Play Store will start taking orders for Nexus 7 2 in the next few weeks, meaning Apple fans will be lagging by a number of months while Android users enjoy the premium but still affordable features of the Nexus 7 replacement.

The countdown for the iPad Mini 2 should pick up real momentum by October this year while Nexus 7 2 would-be buyers can actually hear the clock ticking at this time, looking at less than three weeks into the real release date for the vanilla Android tablet.