Android 2.3, codenamed Gingerbread, is expected to materialize this month. Little is known about Gingerbread's features, however, because Google develops the operating system behind closed doors and doesn't publish a roadmap. This has fueled a lot of speculation among Android enthusiasts.

Google has hinted that 2.3 could bring a user interface refresh that will reduce the need for handset makers to broadly deviate from the standard user experience. Various leaks have suggested that the platform is being overhauled to boost its suitability for tablet devices. Google's new WebM multimedia format, which uses the VP8 codec, will likely be supported out of the box. It's also possible that Gingerbread will include some of the music library streaming and synchronization features that the search giant demonstrated this year at the Google I/O conference.

We have some ideas of our own about what Google should be doing. We think that Android's messaging applications need an overhaul, Google should make a stronger effort to deliver good first-party software, and the home screen could use some better widgets.

1. Fix the Android e-mail client

One area where Android is still disappointingly weak is conventional e-mail. Google's own Gmail application is nice, but those of us who still use IMAP feel like second-class citizens. I have had all kinds of problems with Android's mail application and have learned that I simply can't rely on it to perform as expected. Google has some work to do to catch up with superior third-party mail applications like K-9.

One of my pet peeves is the native mail client's lack of support for moving messages between folders—a deficiency that makes it impossible for me to use the program for triaging my e-mail. A feature request calling for the ability to move messages between IMAP folders was filed in Android's official issue tracker in 2008 and was finally marked as implemented in September of this year. I'm going to be deeply disappointed if the fix doesn't land in Android 2.3.

Another annoyance is the program's inability to represent the user's IMAP folder hierarchy as an actual tree when switching between folders. Instead, I get a massive flat list where each name includes the full path. This is especially obnoxious when I'm trying to get to a deeply nested folder, because the end of the names get truncated, making it impossible to differentiate between individual subfolders. I often have to guess and try multiple times before I find the right folder.

2. Deliver good first-party applications

Tight integration of Google's Web services is arguably one of Android's major selling points, yet there are still a number of important Google services that are poorly supported on Android. It's mystifying that the search giant hasn't built its own native Android applications for Google Docs or Google Reader. In both cases, users are forced to rely on third-party offerings that aren't particularly compelling. I've also been deeply unimpressed with the buggy Google Finance application, which has never worked reliably for me. I'd really like to see those first-party application gaps closed in future versions of the operating system.

3. Unify Android messaging

Another frustration with Android is the lack of cohesion between the various messaging applications. Google Voice, Google Talk, Messaging, and the standard dialer are all little silos that don't naturally flow together. It's not always obvious which application the user should open to access the specific features that they want. The fact that the Talk and Voice icons are nearly identical just adds to the confusion. A more streamlined interface that brings all of the features together in a more natural and intuitive way would greatly improve the Android user experience.

4. More flexible home screen with better widgets

We recently reviewed LauncherPro, an excellent third-party Android home screen replacement that offers a lot of really impressive features and a very slick set of custom widgets that were loosely inspired by HTC's Sense user interface. I happily paid $2.99 for the "Plus" version of LauncherPro just for the great scrolling agenda widget. It also has a really good widget resizing feature and support for a multitude of customization options. It makes the default Android home screen seem quaint or crippled by comparison.

It's amazing that a single third-party developer can so vastly out-engineer Google at building a quality home-screen experience. I think that Android needs to match LauncherPro's feature set out of the box in order to be competitive. I'm hoping that the rumored Android user interface overhaul will bring a superior home screen, but if it doesn't, then I think the folks at Google should seriously consider hiring/acquiring LauncherPro's prolific and highly talented developer.

5. Support for higher resolution and a real tablet UI

Although hardware vendors like Samsung are adopting Android for their tablet products, the platform is not designed for the tablet form factor. There seem to be conflicting views within Google about Android's suitability for tablets in light of the manner in which the platform's compatibility definition and APIs are structured. The early prototypes have largely failed to impress and some hardware makers like LG have said that they are waiting for future versions of the platform before they will do Android tablets.

Leaks indicate that a new tablet user experience for Android could potentially be introduced in either Gingerbread or the rumored Honeycomb version. We are hoping that it happens sooner rather than later because there seem to be a lot of gadget makers that are ready to deliver the hardware today and simply need better software.

A related issue is the need for native support for higher screen resolutions. Google's official documentation doesn't really address resolutions that are higher than WVGA. We'd like to see Google encouraging Android hardware vendors to move towards something like the iPhone's retina display. There is also a clear need for more netbook-like resolutions on tablet products.

Waiting for Gingerbread

A fresh round of sketchy Internet rumors claim that Gingerbread will start hitting Nexus One handsets in an over-the-air update this week. These rumors are based on a tweet written in Spanish by someone who is thought to be a leading member of the Open Handset Alliance (the fact that he misspells both "Android" and "Alliance" in his LinkedIn profile doesn't help the credibility of these rumors, though he does appear to have given Android-related presentations at some mobile conferences).

I think it's likely that the SDK will emerge at some point this month or in December, but I'm a bit skeptical about the claim that the Nexus One update is going to start rolling out this week. Even if they push a test version to a limited number of developer phones, it's highly unlikely to be the actual final build. Regardless of when it lands, we are looking forward to seeing what new features Google has cooked up.