The Verizon-bound Nokia Lumia 928 is one of the most leaked devices ever and now it's finally official, complete with a launch date and price details.

Nokia will start selling its new high-end Lumia 928 Windows 8-based smartphone through U.S. carrier Verizon Wireless on May 16, aiming to boost its share of the high-margin smartphone market after years of trailing behind rivals Samsung and Apple.

The new Nokia Lumia 928 is Verizon's variant of the high-end Lumia 920 smartphone and will cost $99.99 for customers who mail in a $50 rebate and agree to enter a two-year contract with the carrier. The Lumia 928 is similar to the Lumia 920 model currently available through AT&T, but it's lighter and sports a slightly different design.

The Nokia Lumia 928 weighs in at 5.71 ounces (162 grams) compared to the 6.52 ounces (185 grams) for the Lumia 920, which received some criticism for being too heavy. In terms of design, the Lumia 928's 4.5-inch screen extends to the edge of the phone, which gives a sharper impression compared to the curved edges of its Lumia 920 counterpart. The new smartphone will also be available in black and white versions, while the Lumia 920 sports the colorful options of the Lumia range.

Aside from weight, sharper appearance and black and white options, most other features remain the same as the Nokia Lumia 920, including the 8.7-megapixel camera and dual-core Qualcomm processor clocked at 1.5GHz.

The Nokia Lumia 928 joins the Finnish company's family of smartphones running on Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 software. Nokia shifted to Windows Phone back in 2011, ditching its Symbian OS in an effort to better compete with Apple's iPhones and rivals rocking Google's popular Android mobile operating system.

Nokia Lumia phones saw a jump in sales in recent quarters, but even with 5.6 million in the first quarter they still managed to grab only 5 percent of the market. Nokia is striving to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive market and made some notable efforts to regain some of its lost market share.

The Finnish company also launched new products recently in the lower and mid-tier range to maintain its position in emerging markets, and even launched a new Asha platform for feature phones. Analysts, however, believe that Nokia's success in the high-margin premium market will be crucial for its long-term survival.