Motorola's new Moto X flagship is not only officially announced, but it's also available for pre-order already for $199.99 on a two-year contract.

While three of the four big carriers (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint) will be selling the new Moto X directly, it seems that a smaller carrier beat the big players as the first one to start taking pre-orders for the handset. US Cellular was on the list of carriers to offer the Moto X, but few expected it to be the first one to have it up for pre-order.

The normal price is $199.99, but US Cellular is offering a neat incentive to attract more interested buyers willing to join its network. The carrier is offering a $75 "switcher bonus" in the form of a debit card, applicable only to new customers. This theoretically brings the price of the handset down to $124.99, but there's a catch: customers will also have to pay a $35 activation fee, which means that in the end the actual price of the Moto X for new US Cellular customers will be $159.99. In may not be a huge discount over the normal price, but it's still a notable offer.

The carrier, however, doesn't stop here. In addition to that discount for new customers, US Cellular is also offering a free Motorola Bluetooth headset to anyone who pre-orders the Moto X. As usual with such incentives, this offer will only be available while supplies last. US Cellular has the Moto X up for pre-order in white and black color options.

The carrier offers no exact release date on the pre-order page, but it shouldn't be too long before the Moto X reaches its destination.

If the $200 price tag on-contract seems a bit steep for the Moto X, it seems that a cheaper version of the handset will make its debut soon, targeting the U.S. pre-paid market and developing markets.

Unlike the slew of rumors and speculations making rounds on a regular basis, this information comes from a very reliable source: Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside. The CEO told CNET that the Moto X is just the first smartphone to launch, but a more affordable variant is on its way. Woodside did not mention which specifications and features of the original Moto X will be found in the budget version as well.