HP Chromebook 11 sales halted because of overheating chargers

HP and Google have called a halt to sales of the Chromebook 11 laptop, in the wake of reports about overheating device chargers.

The laptop, which is made by HP and features Google's Chrome OS, was released last month and retails at 229.

At the time of writing, the listings for the device had been removed from the Amazon, HP and Google online stores.

Google and HP confirmed the product had been withdrawn from sale following a "small number" of reports about Chromebook 11 chargers being damaged because of overheating.

"We are working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to identify the appropriate corrective action, and will provide additional information and instructions as soon as we can," said Caesar Sengupta, vice president of product management at Google, in a statement.

He also urged people who have bought the product not to use its original charger.

"In the interim, they may continue using their HP Chromebook 11 with any other Underwriters Laboratories-listed micro-USB charger, for example one provided with a tablet or smartphone," Sengupta added.

How much impact this move will have on overall Chromebook sales remains to be seen, as similar devices made by the likes of Acer, Samsung and Lenovo are unaffected by the sales ban.

At the time of writing, there was no word from either company on when sales of the device were likely to resume.