FWIW I don't use Op on the desktop, primarily because I've become entrenched with FF since moving to it for web dev tools some time ago, but on phone and tablet I find Opera far better than other offerings.
You're not alone thinking Opera has focused too much on creating new things ... internally people have also been thinking and saying this. I remember people complained regularly about Opera crashing when I worked there, although I personally have never had much problems with stability.
The lack of polish on the desktop version could also be because they have been putting a lot more resources on the mobile version ... after all, they bring in a lot more money. Opera is also a lot more successful in the mobile market, as the original article mentions. Opera Mobile is a great product, and Opera Mini is just amazing.
Opera probably still wants to push the browser as a platform, especially on devices (http://www.opera.com/business/devices/), and widgets and Unite are important for this.