Digital Trends reports that Google is on the verge of acquiring WhatsApp, the company behind the popular cross-platform messaging service WhatsApp Messenger.While the deal started four or five weeks ago, we’ve been told that WhatsApp is “playing hardball” and jockeying for a higher acquisition price, which currently is “close to” $1 billion right now.WhatsApp Messenger is currently a $0.99 app in the App Store, but the company has announced that it will be shifting to a subscription model later this year under which the app would likely be free for the first year and $0.99/year thereafter. The subscription model is already in use on the company's Android
