Intel's chips are more power-hungry than ARM processors, which are used in tablets such as Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Kircos said Intel will close the power and performance gap through smarter chip design and rapid advances in manufacturing. Intel advances its chip manufacturing process every two years and invests billions to improve chip performance and reduce leakage.

Intel's upcoming low-end smartphone chip, code-named Medfield, is also being extended to tablets, said Claudine Mangano, an Intel spokeswoman. Intel wants to offer a range of chips so it can provide tablet makers with more choice when building devices. Smartphones with the Medfield chip will be released later this year.

Intel needs to move quickly in tablets, which are eating into the sales of netbooks and low-end laptops, a staple of Intel's business, said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.

"Nobody expected the iPad to be the phenomenal success it has been," Brookwood said.

Intel is the dominant player in the PC market, with its chips . But PC shipments have declined due to a growing interest in tablets, according to surveys by IDC and Gartner this week. Worldwide PC shipments declined by 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 compared with the first quarter of 2010, according to IDC. The research company estimates that tablet shipments will reach 44 million units this year, up from just 18 million last year.