Nokia Lumia Icon appears again on Verizon Wireless’ website with confusing price

The Verizon Nokia Lumia Icon, also known as the Lumia 929, is expected to debut soon and has now appeared again on the carrier's website.

Nokia has done a very good job with its latest smartphones and has managed to increase the relevance of Microsoft's Windows Phone platform in an increasingly competitive smartphone market. The company has released several handsets that received positive reviews, and now it seems that a new smartphone for Verizon is getting closer to launch.

The handset has popped up online on several occasions, starring in leaked photos, briefly appearing on Verizon's website, and even surfacing as sold in China. Verizon and Nokia have yet to make an official announcement regarding this upcoming smartphone, but Verizon's website now lists the Nokia Lumia Icon yet again.

It has been previously revealed that Nokia would drop the number moniker with this handset and instead call it simply the Lumia Icon. The new Verizon listing confirms the name and offers a few more details.

Verizon's website lists the Nokia Lumia Icon with a $777 price tag both on- and off-contract. While it might be a reasonable price for a contract-free handset, $777 on a new two-year contract sounds outrageous, and is surely a mistake. The most likely scenario is that the smartphone went live on Verizon's website a little earlier than it should have, hence the on-contract price confusion.

The listing further reveals that the Verizon Nokia Lumia Icon will be available in two color options - white and black.

The Nokia Lumia Icon has been widely referred to as the Lumia 929, and is expected to launch as a smaller version of the Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet. The upcoming smartphone seems to be a Verizon-exclusive, at least at first.

The Lumia Icon will have similar specifications to the Lumia 1520, but offer them in a more compact form factor. The smartphone will sport a 5-inch full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor clocked at 2.2GHz, and 2GB of RAM. Other specs include 32GB of internal storage capacity (no microSD card slot for additional memory), and a high-end 20-megapixel rear camera with Nokia's PureView technology. Connectivity options will include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC, and the smartphone will run the latest version of Windows Phone 8.

"With the Nokia Lumia Icon, see and hear what you've been missing. Get the ultimate smartphone video experience with gorgeous HD video and awesome stereo sound. A 20-megapixel camera and single-finger zoom make it easy to get close to the action. Experience great performance with this Windows Phone 8 smartphone," touts the description on the carrier's website.

The Verizon listing also reveals that the Nokia Lumia Icon will come with the ISIS NFC SIM card pre-installed, which means that users will be able to make mobile payments via the smartphone using the Wallet app.

Verizon Wireless makes no mention of when the Nokia Lumia Icon will finally make its official debut, but the listing suggests an imminent launch. The carrier should also clarify the on-contract price soon, so stay tuned for more information as soon as it becomes available.