The next flavor of Google's Android operating system is almost here. The upcoming platform iteration has been already spotted at large on the recently leaked HTC Nexus One, and is also expected to soon make an appearance on the highly popular Motorola DROID from Verizon, but now a series of screenshots showing what it is expected to look like also made their way to the web, allegedly taken with the Nexus One's ROM.

According to some of the news around the Internet, the Android 2.1 flavor is to be something quite different from the version running on the Motorola DROID, which is 2.0. The reason for this, as HTC Source notes, is that Eclair has been developed only for the DROID, while the 2.1 iteration will include a wide range of other enhancements from Google.

“The first thing that you’ll notice on the Android 2.1 build is the new app drawer. Android has apparently ditched the little tab at the bottom of the screen in favor of 4 x 4 square button which his accompanied by two dots on both sides (we’re guessing that the dots represent your position on the new 5 panel home screen). The app drawer itself has also undergone an extensive redesign. As you scroll through your apps, they will roll out from the bottom of the screen and curve around the top,” the news site notes.

Other novelties Android 2.1 is set to arrive to the market with would include a new Weather/News widget, a new News and Weather app included in the 2.1 build (with tabbed views), the addition of a card-like system on the homescreen, as well as enhancements to the gallery application. Over all, the Android 2.1 platform seems to be a great update over the already existing Android 2.0 version of the operating system, yet it remains to be seen when exactly it will arrive and on what devices. Watch this space for more.