Are Microsoft and Apple Courting Facebook Home?

Less than 12 hours ago,

was rumored to be in talks with

and

about the possibility of bringing the Home launcher to iOS and Windows Phone 8.

The rumor stemmed from a

report, which quoted Adam Mosseri, Facebook's director of product. "We've shown them what we've built and we're just in an ongoing conversation," Mosseri told Bloomberg, referring to both Apple and Microsoft. This is an interesting idea considering Apple's strategy. Thus far, the Cupertino, California-based tech giant has maintained firm control over its mobile platform, iOS. Apple would have to greatly alter its policies in order for Home to be ported to the iPhone. Contrary to the Bloomberg report (and Mosseri's tease), Home is unlikely to take over iOS anytime soon. According to

, a source inside Facebook has claimed that the company is

talking to Apple or Microsoft about bringing Home to their platforms. This is not the first time that Apple has been associated with two

. Earlier this year,

reported that Apple was developing a low-cost iPhone. According to

-- which quoted a Shanghai Evening News interview with Apple marketing executive Phil Schiller -- this was not true. Schiller reportedly said that Apple would not develop a cheaper iPhone.

spoke to Apple and confirmed that the interview was real. It may not have been real enough, however. Reuters pulled its original story and replaced it with the following two paragraphs: "Reuters has withdrawn the story headlined 'Apple exec dismisses cheaper phone as a market share grab-report' which was based on a Shanghai Evening News report that was subsequently updated with substantial changes to its content. "No replacement story will be issued." That explanation was later deleted, but Reuters published a new version of the story with

from Schiller. This time, Reuters did not say that Schiller firmly denied the existence of a low-cost iPhone. With so many twists and turns in that report, many analysts still believe that Apple will release a less expensive iPhone. Does this mean that investors should expect to see Facebook Home on iOS? Not necessarily. Apple is still one of the strictest and most controlling corporations in the world.