either they will charge for the app or they may give the app for free and charge more for hardware over time (or source cheaper hardware parts, etc.).
there are plenty of ip to IR/rs232/relay/etc. boxes on the market these days so competition is heating up in the smartphone market for remote controls.
logitech is starting to go down this route also with the google tv project.
it's just that remote manufacturers cannot afford to ignore this market segment at this point. they need to hedge their bets in case the smartphone/mid/pmp/tablet/etc. really does become the defacto standard for remote controls at some point.
like for HA it should shakeup the market a little.
Total Control Video Surveillance For Mobile Phones Iphone/Itouch IR Universal Remote & Zwave Remote www.totalcontrolapp.com