8gb cost around 300$ 16gb will be around 400$.
ditching android just saves space from apps and games not for music and videos. usb flash drive is and option but its doesnt power most external hdd well since otg was never official feature of nexus 7.It's said to be providing inadequate power for external hdd's. And I won't be carrying a bunch of pendrives in my pocket just because my tablet doesnt have sdcard slot whereas my 60$ secondry phone has a sd card slot . I never see a reason how sd card slot will rise tablet price by 50$ when my secondry phone provides it in 60$ along with 3g support

and you still wifi connection for internet surfing if you want to use it as internet device.