Hi Chris,
There are a few factors that came into this decision. The cost of supporting multiple versions of hardware and software can get expensive - it takes a number of people to test various flavors/combinations/etc. The fragmentation on the Android side doesn't make life any easier. At some point, some hard decisions have to be made. There's always a balance to be made... it's something we against support for other mobile platforms (Windows, BlackBerry, etc).
In the case of iOS5:
- We have been seeing steady decline in use by iOS5 based devices. During the month of November, iOS5 usage dropped below 3% of all iOS based devices (one criteria we use).
- We also look to see what platforms Apple has dropped support for in terms of what devices their OSs run on. When they release a new OS, if they drop a specific model, we try to hold on for at least a year after Apple's decision (another criteria). With the release of iOS6 in September 2012 (roughly 15 months ago), Apple made the decision not to support the original iPad.
- We also wanted to make the migration to an iOS7 specific app which as you know, is not supported on your iPad or iPhone 3GS. Between iOS 5 and iOS7 there are significant differences with the UI. On the development side, we were constantly faced with making a decision of to have a less than desireable (sometimes broken) experience on iOS5 or iOS7. Given the market transitions, this became another factor in the decision.
With that said, we understand there are some users who either choose not to upgrade, or happen to be running a non-iOS or Android platform. I'd like to be able to help all of those folks in this situation, while also being efficient with time and resources.
There are several efforts underway to transform's Cisco's online support content to take advantage of responsive web design techniques (content naturally adjusts to the size/resolution of the device), as well as bring on board a new publishing system that will help speed up the publication of documents in mobile friendly format (ex: epub).
One such effort that's not too far away is the creation of responsive, model specific pages (Ex: ASA5550). From that page, you'll be able to access alll the documentation, software, and community discussions specific to that model, as well as physical characteristics (size, power draw, replacement models, etc). From the early prototypes I've seen, content seamlessly adapts to device. I would keep an eye out for more information about these pages (support for over 5600 different models) in the early February timeframe.
I can understand if you're frustrated. I'd be happy to talk to you further over the phone. It may shed some light on other areas/needs that we should consider. I can PM you my cell phone number if you would like to discuss further.
Regards,
Dave
