In today’s mobile and social news roundup: Facebook Home passes 500K downloads; Apple looking to replace Tim Cook; Samsung working on mind-controlled tablet; and 8M defective iPhones returned to Foxconn.

Facebook Home passes 500K download

Though many were skeptic about the future of Facebook Home, the Android launcher recently introduced by the popular social network has already been downloaded more than 500,000 times.  But are people loving the app?

The app has been rated an average of two stars on Google Play and based on the comments of users, not many were impressed.  Most of the people who downloaded and rated the app gave Facebook Home just one star, the lowest rating possible.  Also, there’s no way of confirming if people are actually using Facebook Home or they just tried it out once and dismissed the app there after.  So should Mark Zuckerberg be happy about hitting the 500K milestone?

Apple looking to replace Tim Cook

According to some Wall Street sources close to Apple executives, the Cupertino company is looking to replace CEO Tim Cook as the company hit a new 52-week low by trading to $390 a share in April 19, 2013 compared to the $702 a share reached in September 2012.

The report came from Forbes who also claimed that if this plan isn’t in the works, some execs believe that it should.  Apple’s downfall seemed to have started when its iconic leader, Steve Jobs, passed away and many believe that its demise can’t be prevented if Cook isn’t replaced.

Samsung working on mind-controlled tablet

Samsung’s Emerging Technology Lab has teamed up with the University of Texas, Dallas in a project to develop a device that can be controlled with using the mind.  The project stems from the need to deliver technology access to people with mobile impairment.  If the team working on this project perfects this effort, this could shoot Samsung well ahead of the competition.

Currently, the team is testing the new feature using a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet to launch applications, shuffle through music, turn the tablet on and off, and other activities by using their minds by donning a cap equipped with EEG-monitoring electrodes to convey their thoughts into actions.

8M defective iPhones returned to Foxconn

There’s a rumor going around that Apple returned 8 million iPhone units to Foxconn “due to appearance of substandard or dysfunctional problems.”  No news yet as to what models were returned to Foxconn, but there were a lot of issues on the iPhone 5 units when it was launched last year.  Some users were not happy that the paint on the device gets easily scratched, or that it had WiFi issues, among other things. And to the dismay of Apple, Foxconn has encountered many more issues as the factory ramped up its iPhone 5 production.