HP's Chromebook 11 Disappears From Best Buy, Amazon

Last month, Benzinga reported Hewlett-Packard's HPQ Chromebook 11 contained an innovative feature not found in Apple's AAPL MacBook.

But now it seems that Apple is having the last laugh.

While a wide array of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air units can be found at Best Buy BBY locations all across the country (and on BestBuy.com), HP's sleek white Chromebook is being pulled from the shelves.

According to The Verge, Best Buy sent out an internal memo -- urging managers to take action immediately.

"Stores should stop selling the HP Chromebook 11 effective immediately,: it said. "Partner with Sales Support to pull the product off the sales floor to a secure location in the warehouse."

This is an interesting reaction to a product that has only been on sale for a month.

Not even managers at AT&T T, who were said to be very disappointed with sales of HTC's HTCKF latest Facebook FB phone, reacted that harshly. They simply issued a 99 percent price cut that reduced the contract price to $1.

If the Chromebook 11 had flopped, Best Buy could have simply reduced the price and sold it to unsuspecting customers.

Related: Acer Unveils New Chromebook With Thinner Body, Faster Boot Times And Longer Battery Life

However, Best Buy is not the only retailer that has abandoned the ill-fated Chromebook. Amazon AMZN has completely removed the product's listing from its website. BestBuy.com has done the same.

Google.com GOOG, meanwhile, is pretending the Chromebook 11 never existed. Consumers won't find it on HP.com either.

If this was an Apple product, consumers would assume that a refresh was around the corner.

Though it's not impossible, it is hard to imagine that HP would upgrade its Chromebook 11 so soon after its release.

But if the device is not being refreshed, why is HP quickly removing it from store shelves?

A company representative told Benzinga he was looking into the matter and would follow up with more information. This story will be updated when he does.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.

Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ