Tava Corporation
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer hardware |
| Founded | March 1983 |
| Founder | Perry Lamba, Earl Perera |
| Defunct | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Irvine, California , United States |
| Products | IBM PC compatibles, coin-operated Apple II replica, CompuShack retail network |
Tava Corporation was a short-lived American computer manufacturer headquartered in Irvine, California, operating between 1983 and 1984. Established by Perry Lamba and Earl Perera, the company was among the pioneers producing IBM PC compatible machines and managed the CompuShack franchise network of computer retail outlets throughout the United States.
History
Founded in March 1983, Tava’s first offering was a coin-operated Apple II replica launched in April 1983, aimed at venues such as public libraries, high schools, and universities. This system enabled users to pay for computing time rather than purchasing costly Apple II hardware outright. The units were installed in libraries across Southern California, charging users 50¢ per 15-minute session, with revenue divided between Tava and the host facilities.
By mid-1983, Tava had introduced CompuShack retail locations, growing to 20 stores nationwide by December and beginning franchising efforts. Around June 1983, the company entered the IBM PC compatible market by recruiting engineer Gene Lu and collaborating with Faraday Electronics to manufacture motherboards. In October 1983, Tava unveiled the Tava PC desktop alongside the portable Tava PC 1, both equipped with Intel 8088 CPUs. The initial PC model was offered as a bare system priced below $1,000; subsequent versions included additional memory, monitors, and keyboards at increased prices. In June 1984, Tava released the Turbo PC featuring an upgraded Intel 8088-2 processor running at 7.16 MHz.
Tava distributed its computers primarily through CompuShack stores and other retail channels, becoming one of the earliest vendors to market private-label IBM PC clones. Between April and August 1984, monthly sales of PCs reached roughly 2,500 units but declined following IBM’s price reductions in June. Sales further dropped after the Turbo PC’s introduction in late August despite monthly advertising budgets of $60,000 to $70,000.
In October 1984, East Coast distributor Replitech acquired Tava Corporation with intentions to preserve the brand and broaden its affordable PC product range. Replitech rebranded as Tava USA Inc. in 1985 and launched new IBM-compatible models: the Megaplus featuring a 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 processor with dual floppy drives and the Sprite model equipped with a hard disk drive. Both computers were fully assembled in the United States, utilizing motherboards from Advanced Logic Research—founded by Gene Lu—and were competitively priced against East Asian-made Turbo XT systems saturating the market.
American Micro Technology
Following the sale of Tava to Replitech, Perry Lamba co-established American Micro Technology (AMT) in 1985 alongside former Tava sales associate Art Afshar. AMT specialized in mail-order distribution of IBM PC compatibles, marketing products such as the AMTjr and XT-plus—names inspired by IBM’s PCjr and PC XT models respectively.
In 1987, IBM initiated a trademark infringement lawsuit against AMT over their product naming conventions and AMT’s use of the Chaplin Tramp character in print advertisements, alleging these elements violated IBM’s advertising intellectual property rights.