If you need an inexpensive Android-powered 3G smartphone with 5-inch screen, there are actually plenty of choices on the market, with pre-paid operator Boost brining Huawei’s Ascend G630 to the low-cost party.

ARTICLE UPDATED to reflect the fact that Boost's new $40 UNLTD plan includes 2.5GB of data per month and is being boosted to 3GB per month between now (Nov 2014 until 26 Jan 2015). Article continues below:

Boost talks up the phone’s ability to run Android apps like the popular Spotify, given 2013 NPD Group stats showing how popular music streaming is with “over half of smartphone owners”, although this will likely come as no surprise to anyone.

The MVNO also talks up the device’s sleek design, 5-inch 720P screen, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 4GB internal storage and microSD card which can take cards up to 32GB, HD Voice capability, Android OS 4.3 JellyBean, Next G 3G connectivity up to 42.2Mbps, 8 megapixel rear camera, and among other features, a free bonus of a portable Bluetooth speaker for $49.

Huawei Australia doesn’t seem to have G630 specs on either page of its list of phones, but GSM Arena has a detailed list if you’re curious , with Boost itself having a shorter list of specs and details here. 

Boost Mobile’s Chief Marketing Office, Ian Blackhall said: “This incredibly well designed Huawei Ascend G630 is ideal for music fans. At an incredibly reasonable price it offers a large HD 5-inch screen ideal for watching music videos and comes with a free portable Bluetooth speaker worth $49. It also has enhanced battery life so you can listen to music with friends on the beach or on a weekend away for even longer.”

You can buy it online now from Boost’s site with Boost’s $40 UNLTD monthly offer, as well as being available from ‘leading retailers’ across Australia. As a pre-paid deal that you've purchased outright there are obviously no 24-month contracts making the deal attractive to anyone that wants a low cost phone but still wants access to Telstra-quality voice and data speeds. 

Boost also reminds us it has its special offer of an extra 500GB of data on the $40 UNLTD plan, which takes the recently upgraded 2.5GB monthly data limit to a 3GB total, a nice bonus, and as we looked at in this article on 5 November 2014, the free 500MB per month extra expires on Australia Day - 26 January 2015.

It's a great offer compared to Telstra itself, or competitors Optus and Vodafone, and you get unlimited calls to standard Australian landlines and mobiles, including 13 and 18 numbers, and unlimited text and mms messages as well.

A shorter list of Huawei Ascend G630 specs are as follows:

- Sleek design
- Android Jellybean OS
- 1.2GHz Quad Core Processor
- Brilliant 5” HD IPS Display
- 8MP rear and 1MP front camera
- Extended battery life with 2000mAh
- HD Voice for superior clarity
- 4GB internal memory, extendable to 32GB with Mirco SD
- Network GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 3G 850/1900/2100
- Download speeds of up-to 42 Mbps, upload speeds of up to 5.76Mbps
- Weighs 165g
- 5-inch 720p HD screen, 1280x720 pixels
- Talktime up to 600mins and standby up to 500hrs
- Micro SIM
- Bonus Bluetooth speaker