BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- Sales of MP3 and MP4 musical players in China saw sharp decline in the first quarter, Beijing-based CCIDC Consulting company said in its report.

    The country's companies sold 1.66 million units of MP3 and MP4 musical players in the first three months, representing a joint decrease of 30.02 percent over the same period last year.

    Sales volume stood at 1.1 billion yuan (157 million U.S. dollars), down 31.13 percent year on year.

    Consultants from CCIDC attributed the sales shrink of MP3 to a lack of innovation in the products and weakened demand and purchasing power from both individual and governmental buyers. The first quarter is traditional a low season, said consultants.

    Booming substitutes products such as musical cell phone and other intelligence products that attracted some customers also led to a recession in the MP3 market, according to the consultants.

    Sales volume of MP4, a more advanced player, which provide multimedia, including music, digital video and audio, and other data information, posted a decline of 26.58 percent year on year to 417 million yuan in the first quarter.