By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 03:00 PM EST

A spokeswoman for Apple Computer on Friday said she was recently misquoted in a comment on the life-span of the company's iPod digital music players.

Earlier this week, Chicago Tribune quoted Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris as saying iPods have a relatively low failure rate and that they are designed to last "four years."

However, Kerris in a statement to the iLounge on Friday said she was misquoted. The Apple spokeswoman said she told the reporter that the iPod was designed to last "for years," not "four years."

Apple maintains that iPods have a failure rate of less than 5 percent, which it says is "fairly low" compared with other consumer electronics.