When people talk about desktop clients in China, QQ is the benchmark. A computer without QQ used to feel like an anomaly; even those who say they never installed it have probably used it at some point. Tencent once reported more than 100 million simultaneous users online. That number matters because a client turns promotion into a direct, low-friction act. A single QQ pop-up can reach millions of machines, making it easy to push a new Tencent product and let interested users try it immediately. This is the raw power of owning the desktop.
360 Security Guard is another client with huge reach. It occupies a different niche from QQ, but the overlap is growing. Tencent has not made a huge push into security yet, but QQ Doctor should not be underestimated. It began as a tool against QQ Trojans and has gradually become a broader security product closer to 360, with a growing feature set.
Security software is now crowded: 360 Security Guard, QQ Doctor, Kingsoft Wangdun, Kingsoft Guard, Rising Kaka, and a Baidu PC manager that was expected possibly in early September. The list shows how valuable the client position is, and why competition is so fierce. The earlier conflict between 360 and Kingsoft is a case in point. Kingsoft Wangdun grew quickly and posed a threat to 360 Security Guard, so 360 gave users a 'not compatible' reason to remove it. The surface issue was compatibility; the underlying motive was protecting its own client.
360 has grown fast, and the pressure on it is real. Large internet companies look at this territory with appetite. Security and download tools are moving into the same space. Xunlei and FlashGet, for example, offer software manager features that let users download the latest programs. That puts pressure on traditional software download sites. The effect may not be obvious yet, but it will become clearer. Such clients may not fully replace download sites, but they can take a meaningful share of the market through the desktop.
Input methods are another small but strategic client. Anyone using a computer needs to type, and for Chinese users that means an input method. Pinyin products dominate, with Sogou, QQ, Google, and Ziguang among the better-known options. Baidu, after its mobile input method, was expected to enter the PC side as well. An input method can reveal typing habits and preferences, which creates a foundation for promotion. Many software makers are fighting for the lower-right corner of the user's desktop; two tigers cannot share one mountain. A tiny input method carries outsized strategic value.
Browsers are the final major piece. Anyone who goes online needs one, so China's big internet companies have each launched their own. Xunlei recently introduced its 155 Browser with built-in downloading, so users do not need separate download software. Among domestic browsers, Maxthon and TheWorld were early entrants, but their market share has been squeezed by Sogou Browser, 360 Browser, Tencent TT, and others. The difference is client power: Sogou, 360, and Tencent TT all have strong clients behind them, while Maxthon and TheWorld do not have the same distribution muscle. Installing 360 prompts users to install 360 Browser; Sogou Input Method shows ads for Sogou Browser when updating its dictionary; QQ pushes in similar ways.
Once a browser is installed, it becomes a channel for promoting a search engine. After Google withdrew from China, Baidu became dominant with nearly 80% of the search market. Rivals are naturally eager for a slice. Using a browser to drive traffic to a search engine is a practical method. 360 did not have a search engine at the time, but Zhou Hongyi's background was in search at Yahoo, so search was his old territory. It was only a matter of time before 360 entered. The whole picture shows how connected these products are: a strong client makes promotion much easier.
Every major player wants to grow bigger and stronger, so they keep fighting for client installations. The company with the stronger client controls more of the internet market and ultimately captures more profit.