Why MP3 players are hot this holiday season. MP3 players -- this little contraptions like the iPod that can store thousands of songs -- are selling at twice the rate compared to a year ago. Analysts say more and more people will flock to MP3 players as they look to get all those songs off their desktops, and onto portable devices. Eliot Van Buskirk is senior editor for CNET Reviews and author of Burning Down the House: Ripping, Recording, Remixing, and More. He says today's MP3 players are giving consumers more for their money.