The Verizon-exclusive Nokia Lumia Icon Windows Phone 8 smartphone is now officially available, selling for $199.99 on a new two-year contract with the carrier.

Nokia recently unveiled its brand new Lumia Icon after months of speculation, introducing the latest Windows Phone smartphone exclusive for Verizon Wireless. The Nokia Lumia Icon is basically a smaller version of the 6-inch, high-end Lumia 1520 phablet, packing virtually the same top-notch specs and features.

While AT&T customers had exclusive access to recent high-end Lumia devices from Nokia, Verizon customers were still waiting for new Windows Phone offerings. Last year, Verizon had exclusivity on the Lumia 928, which is a variant of the Lumia 925. The Lumia Icon now launches as the second exclusive for Big Red and it definitely has what it takes to be the carrier's Windows Phone flagship.

The Nokia Lumia Icon features an elegant design with an aluminum ring surrounding the edges, which makes the smartphone more durable and enhances the antenna performance at the same time.

In terms of specifications, the Verizon Nokia Lumia Icon sports a 5-inch FHD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and Gorilla Glass 3 protection for extra scratch-resistance. The smartphone packs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2GHz and paired with 2GB of RAM under the hood. Other specs include 32GB of internal storage capacity (no microSD card slot for additional memory), a 20-megapixel rear camera with PureView technology, and a large 2,420 mAh battery. Connectivity options consist of 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, and NFC. On the software side, the handset runs Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8 OS.

The Verizon-exclusive Nokia Lumia Icon is now officially available for purchase, sporting a $199.99 price tag when signing a new two-year contract with the carrier. Interested buyers can place their order either through Verizon's website here or Microsoft's online store at this link. Those who would rather purchase the smartphone without committing to a lengthy carrier agreement, meanwhile, will have to shell out $549.99 for the unlocked Nokia Lumia Icon.

To further sweeten the deal, Microsoft is also offering a free Wireless Charging accessory (worth $49) for those who purchase a Nokia Lumia Icon before March 16. To take advantage of this offer, you'd have to make your purchase through the Microsoft Store.