Apple players will boost our sales says Archos

Apple's iPod Touch and iPhone will increase interest in other portable media players rather than reduce their sales, according to a company that pioneered the format.

"Apple has increased interest in the format and we have had review after review saying our products are better," said Tony Limrick, managing director of northern Europe for Archos.

He was showing off the company's three latest media players, the Archos 5, 5g and 7, all of which offer Wifi internet access for email and browsing.

The 5g also supports 3g access on the move, which is available on the other two as a docking station add-on.

The iPod Touch is sleeker and lighter than the Archos models, but they now also offer a slick touch interface and larger screens with higher resolution – 4.8in or 7in with 800x480 pixels, compared to the Apple's 3.5in with 480x320 pixels.

And, crucially for devices intended for watching video and movies on the move, the Archos offerings have more storage – up to 120GB on the smaller model and 320GB on the 7in, compared to a maximum 32GB on the Touch.

However, prices of the iPod Touch start at £169 compared with between £279 and £439 for the Archos models.