Apple kills off iPod Nano and Shuffle, marking the end of an era

The smartphone has claimed another victim as the once best-selling app-free music players are taken off the Silicon Valley company's roster

Apple has killed off the last remaining app-free music players in its roster, the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle, leaving nothing but multi-use, connected devices in the brave new world of streaming, apps and games.

From the moment the iPhone was launched in 2007 the writing has been on the wall for Apple's iPod line, and by extension, every other dedicated music player out there. For Apple, in the era of streaming music and smartphone ubiquity, now is the time to put its legacy players to bed, with the wifi-enabled iPod Touch the last remaining member of a once dominant gadget line.