Just a few days back, we covered the unfortunate news that official restore images for the new 2013 Nexus 7 were not yet available. Much speculation pointed towards Qualcomm as the underlying cause for the delay, given that such a trend was observed on previous Qualcomm-based Nexus devices. Thankfully, either due to a change of heart by Qualcomm or Google, the factory images are now available. Furthermore, the component drivers are now also available, so those looking to compile from source can do so with ease.
The 359 MB factory restore image comes in the form of build JSS15J. For those keeping track, this is the same build that is found after the second OTA for the device. The drivers come from Asus (Audio and Sensors), Broadcom (NFC), and Qualcomm (Graphics, Camera, GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, Sensors Media, DRM, DSP, and USB). They should provide custom ROM developers with all they need to get the ball rolling with the aftermarket development we all know and crave.
Whatever the cause for the change, the aftermarket enthusiast community can now collectively breathe a sigh of relief. To get your fix, head over to the factory images and driver binaries.