BusinessWeek’s Peter Burrows reports that Apple is in talks with Microsoft to make Bing the default search engine on the iPhone.

Apple is in talks with Microsoft to replace Google as the default search engine on its iPhone, according to two people familiar with the matter. The talks have been under way for weeks, say the people, who asked not to be named because the details have not been made public.

I wouldn’t doubt that Apple would talk with Microsoft about this, they are the number two search company, and Google and Apple haven’t exactly been getting along as of late.

But, John Gruber found the most interesting part of this BusinessWeek piece. Buried in the last paragraph is this little gem:

Even if it’s consummated, an Apple-Bing deal may prove short-lived. The person familiar with Apple’s thinking says Apple has a “skunk works” looking at a search offering of its own, and believes that “if Apple does do a search deal with Microsoft, it’s about buying itself time.” Given the importance of search and its tie to mobile advertising — and the iPhone maker’s desire to slow Google — “Apple isn’t going to outsource the future.”

I’ve often thought that Apple only works with other companies until they have enough time to build a better version of the other companies product. Apple has been using Google Maps in the iPhone since its introduction but will most likely be using PlaceBase’s maps in their mapping application soon. And, given Apple’s want to control every aspect of the user experience, search is a logical progression.