Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile Unveil the Budget $80 LG K3 Smartphone

The low-priced LG K3 smartphone is packed with a bright 4.5-inch display, a quad-core CPU and more, giving users another no-contract handset option.

The LG K3 handset is a 3G/4G LTE-capable handset that features a 4.5-inch full wide VGA IPS touch-screen display (854 by480 pixels), a Qualcomm 210 MSM8909 1.1GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of memory.

The K3 smartphone also includes a 1,940mAh rechargeable battery, 8GB of on-board storage (up to 3.10GB of usable storage) and a microSD slot that supports external storage cards up to 32GB so users can manage their images and music content.

The smartphone, which runs the Android Marshmallow 6.0 operating system, measures 5.27 inches long, 2.67 inches wide and 0.37 inches thick, and weighs 4.48 ounces. The phone can be used as a mobile hotspot and can be used in Mexico with a Mexico calling plan, according to Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile.

Also included in the LG K3 is a 5MP rear-facing camera with flash and HD video recording capabilities and a VGA front-facing camera with VGA video-recording capabilities. The front-facing selfie camera includes an Auto Shot feature that lets users capture images using face detection, as well as a voice-control feature that lets users say “cheese” or another command to operate the shutter. Gesture Shot and Gesture Interval Shot features are also included, which lets users take selfies with a simple hand gesture in front of the lens or up to four images using the Interval feature. A built-in Selfie Light is also included to illuminate a soft light around the photo preview for well-lit selfies.

Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile are divisions of the Sprint Prepaid Group and operate on Sprint’s networks. Both companies also offer unlimited music streaming to customers through certain music-streaming networks. The handsets are available from both companies’ online stores or through Boost Mobile retail stores and select independent wireless retailers in the United States.

Boost Mobile’s calling plans start at $35 a month, which includes 2GB of high-speed data. A $45 monthly plan includes 5GB of high-speed data, while a $60-a-month unlimited data plan is also offered. Customers can earn bonuses of 500MB of additional included data per month on their “Growing Data” plans after every three months of on-time payments, up to a bonus of 3GB after 18 months. Each cellular plan also drops in price by $5 month if a customer selects an automatic payment option.

Virgin Mobile calling plans are priced at $30 a month for 500MB of high-speed data and unlimited talk and texting, $40 a month for 4GB of high-speed data and unlimited talk and texting, or $50 a month for 6GB of high-speed data and unlimited talk and texting. Customers can add more high-speed data at $5 for 1GB or $10 for an extra 2GB of data.