While Nvidia exuded confidence about its prospects in the tablet category, Intel executives took a pragmatic approach.

"We're certainly pursuing some designs and have won some designs with Atom," said Tom Kilroy, vice president of the sales and marketing group at Intel, in an interview.

The approach to the tablet market is no different than Intel has taken in entering other new categories, Kilroy said. Intel launched the Atom chips for the category of netbooks -- low-cost laptops with small screens and keyboards. Millions of netbooks with Atom chips have been sold, and the category is continuing to grow at a fast pace, Kilroy said.

Arm has, however, earned the name as an incumbent in the mobile chip space, Kilroy said.

"[Arm has] earned the position they have got. We're new entering that category and we're realistic about that," he said. Intel has a benefit of a strong software ecosystem, but unseating a competitor like Arm is no easy task, Kilroy said.