The thing is. Why do all developers think there are no more DESKTOP users out there?
Because the single reason I can think of anybody throwing out the bookmark sidebar is that it is difficult to use fingers to click on those miniature bookmarks.
Guess what. I am a caveman. I still use that old-fashioned device called mouse, I still use a separate keyboard and touching the monitor screen is the last thing I would want to do because I want it to be clean and nice.
Why don't you split your browser into two editions? Opera for Desktop and Opera for Tablets?
I want my bookmark sidebar BACK!
Why do I have to suffer because of the increasing popularity of tablets and other touchscreen devices?
Is it a sin to be a desktop user? Is it a sin not to have a touchscreen? Is it a sin to wish to have a bookmark sidebar which was there for decades and nobody thought too much of it? Why is it that now having a bookmark sidebar is politically incorrect?
Did any Opera developer actually try to import 200+ bookmarks into that start screen and reasonably navigate a 10-page mess??? Those screenshots of webpages are confusing, the overview is lost, the navigation is hell. Unusable! And you can not even change the size of those speed dials.