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Home users, especially those who want an alternative to their Time Capsule, will find a lot of appeal in the LaCie Wireless Space because of its appearance and simplicity. Advanced users, however, will likely find its performance and features lacking.

This is such a slick-looking and promising NAS that I was surprised how poorly it fared in testing. I think it tries to be too much: a wireless router, a switch, an access point and a NAS.

The Wireless Space isn't as speedy as dedicated NAS devices, and if you just want a backup device cheaper alternatives are available, but its mix of features justifies its asking price if you do want all that it offers.

The LaCie Wireless Space is an interesting all-in-one product that can be used as a network storage device, a network switch, a routeur and a Wi-Fi access point. It does all of these things just fine, but there's still room for improvement.

If you can live with the fact that the Wireless Space can't compete with a dedicated NAS device in performance terms, it's a cost effective way of both backing-up files, with the added convenience of being able to do this wirelessly, and improving the speed and range of your current modem.