Although third party developers have already made applications that allow you to turn your iPhone into a remote, MacRumors has found that Apple plans to make their own. Although this could have been expected, you can read the following text—found in a pre-release version of iTunes (7.7)—for assurance:
Use iTunes 7.7 to sync music, video, and more with iPhone 3G, and download applications from the iTunes Store exclusively designed for iPhone and iPod touch with software version 2.0 or later. Also use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home—a free download from the App Store.
Considering all the patents Apple has on this sort of interface, it is almost obvious that Apple will not allow third party developers to create a remote application through the App Store, as they will now want their customers to use their own. However, as with most Apple software, I’m sure it will work just as expected and without any problems. It will be interesting to see how the third party developers respond to this, or if this even does happen to show up in the App Store. One thing is for sure, though; I’m definitely looking forward to something like this.
Via [MacRumors]
If it allows control over an AppleTV I'd be a very, very happy person! The Apple Remote is annoying and fiddly and way too easy to lose (thankfully I have a collection from my various laptops which had never been used before, now they're all kept together for emergency AppleTV controllage!).