Zune HD's use of interstitial adverts drawing criticism

The Zune HD hardware has been met with very positive reactions from across the media, with the powerful device promising fast and responsive action from the small amount of currently available software.

The iPod touch competitor launched with just seven games on its roster, though more adventurous titles are apparently in the works from selected developers.

The current selection of games are supported by interstitial adverts, displaying prolonged commercials before the game launches, which has seen the Zune HD's gaming potential met with considerable criticism.

Ars Technica held a stopwatch against some of these rather intrusive advertisements, with the chess game taking to 30 seconds to load, while other games are in the region of 15 seconds.

Perhaps not a huge amount of time, but given the powerhouse processor operating beneath the touchscreen it's hard to imagine gamers will wait patiently every time they choose to open an application, should the Zune HD enter into a more aggressive competition with the iPod touch.