Vodafone has announced it will introduce its first Huawei-branded smartphone, the Ascend G 300, to the New Zealand market next week, offering a special discount on the handset for customers who sign up to a 24-month ‘Smart Data’ plan.

The basic $70 plan, which offers 100 minutes, 2500 txts, and 1GB of data per month – as well as one ‘BestMate’ – usually nets customers a $300 handset discount.

However, for the Ascend G 300 Vodafone will remove the entire RRP of the device – $449 – for customers who sign up.

As an added bonus, the Ascend G 300 will also be the first Android smartphone to feature Vodafone’s HelpLogIn remote troubleshooting application.

The app provides remote access to the device from Vodafone’s customer contact centre, meaning the experts can take over straight away when users call for assistance.

Running on Android 2.3, aka Gingerbread, the Ascend G 300 is powered by a 1GHz CPU with 512 RAM, and boasts a 4-inch screen, 2.5GB of memory (up to 32GB with microSD) and a five megapixel camera.

The device goes on sale on May 1.