Skip to main content

LaCie Network Space 2 Review

LaCie Network Space 2
“LaCie’s dead-simple Network Space 2 won’t impress with performance or capabilities, but the clean case and ease-of-use may make it the ideal NAS for consumers just learning to dabble in the wonders of network attached storage.”
Pros
  • Attractive Design
  • Relatively cool and quiet
  • Acceptable transfer speeds
  • Easy setup and intuitive administrative dashboard
Cons
  • No Remote Access, Wi-Fi, one-touch file transfer
  • Only one USB port for adding printers, USB drives
  • USB data access too awkward to be convenient

Introduction

Of all the tech appliances you might want to prominently display, a mundane network attached storage device probably falls about 78th on most people’s lists, right after VoIP desk phones and before network switches. LaCie’s Network Space 2 may change that. The attractive 1TB NAS sports an exterior design as clean and intuitive as the software that runs it. As we found out, it’s also just as basic as its shape – but entry-level consumers might not mind the lack of high-end features or Formula One performance.

Features

On the surface, the Network Space 2 is merely a hard drive you plug into a network to access it from a number of machines – a networked attached storage devices (NAS) in its most basic form. But its feature set does extend a bit beyond merely providing a shared pool of files between computers.

Because it includes a USB cable, the Network Space 2 can act like a portable USB drive, allowing you to physically cart files from place to place where networks may reach. A front USB slot also allows you to plug in additional storage – like a thumb drive – and access it over the network, or connect a printer and have the Network Space 2 serve as a watt-friendly print server.

LaCie’s built-in software for the Network Space 2 also provides a number of power features. You can download torrents directly to the drive, create and control access for multiple users, and even turn it into a uPNP server for streaming media files to compatible devices – like watching movies on an Xbox 360.

That said, it’s also worth pointing out that the Network Space 2 lacks frills many competitors have been adding, like Wi-Fi, remote access capabilities, one-touch file transfer, and only has one USB port.

Design

LaCie makes much ado of the fact that the Network Space 2 was designed by industrial design rock star Neil Poulton. Design might be too strong a word for the minimalism Poulton has employed here: It’s literally a glossy black box with ports in it. A blue power light up front that projects a bright square onto the surface it sits on is clever, but otherwise there’s not much going on here. Don’t take that as a jab: We much prefer the clean lines and understated elegance of this design to some of the over-engineered monstrosities we’ve seen elsewhere, and the whole box has a very solid feel to it.

Setup

Hooking up the LaCie Network Space 2 is a relatively tame two-cable affair: connect the power brick, connect the Ethernet cable, and off you go to the PC. There, you’ll need to pop in the provided disc and install LaCie Network Assistant. The slim six-megabyte client installs in a snap and runs quietly in the Windows taskbar, providing quick access to different “shares” as well as the admin.

The device dices up storage three ways: OpenShare, MyShare, and USBshare. As the names allude to, OpenShare provides totally unrestricted public space, MyShare is private and password protected, and USBshare is the only portion you can access when you connect via USB. The admin actually prompts you enter how much space you want to allocate to USBshare when you fire it up for the first time, and warns not to add more than 128GB.

While LaCie makes the divvying up process painless, we were disappointed that we wouldn’t actually be able to access to main file pool via USB. In practice, this pretty much means you’ll need to transfer Mad Max 2 over to USB side prior to unhooking the drive and bringing it over to your friend’s for movie night – an extra step that seems to deflate much of the convenience of that promising USB accessibility.

Software

Like most network devices, the administration menu for the Network Space 2 opens in a browser window, bringing you to a dashboard screen with easy access to everything from user administration to settings and drive status. A strip of widgets around the outside edge make things even easier: Almost like with iGoogle, you can drag a frequently used category to this bar and get an overview of the options within. The Ecomanagement widget, for instance, will tell you if the light is on, and how many minutes it has been programmed to stay on for, while the Downloads widgets offers a glance at how many torrents you have cooking.

LaCie also includes Genie Backup Assistant, which serves a very simple tool to backup your local drives to the Network Space 2.

Performance

Even the most attractive and feature-loaded NAS does no good if it can’t perform where the rubber meets the road – or where the head hits the platter, as the case may be. In our tests, the Network Space 2 held its own in that regard, falling in with scores roughly about average.

Using the ultra-fast SSD on a Sony Vaio X to benchmark, we transferred a 594MB file – about the size of a downloaded movie – to and from the Network Space 2 over a gigabit Ethernet connection. The Network Space 2 read the file in 17 seconds flat and wrote it in 28.2 seconds, for a read speed of 34.94 MB/s and a write speed of 21.1 MB/s. Not bad, but our favorite NAS, the blazing fast HP MediaSmart EX487, hits about 28 MB/s write speeds. Still, our corporate NAS system lagged behind the LaCie a bit, reading the file in 19.8 seconds and writing it in 32.4.

Conclusion

Not everybody needs a sport utility vehicle that will crawl over 30-inch boulders and run through mud up to the windshield, and not everybody needs a corporate-level NAS that will allow you to do just about anything with your data. The LaCie Network Space 2 makes a fine consumer-level NAS for the most basic NAS needs, but its lack of features like remote access, along with ho-hum speeds, will keep it from satisfying the most demanding customers. One of its most promising features for non-techies – USB access – is severely hampered by the virtual fence that separates the USB part of the drive from the main part, making it too awkward to be useful.

Highs:

  • Attractive Design
  • Relatively cool and quiet
  • Acceptable transfer speeds
  • Easy setup and intuitive administrative dashboard

Lows:

  • No Remote Access, Wi-Fi, one-touch file transfer
  • Only one USB port for adding printers, USB drives
  • USB data access too awkward to be convenient

Editors' Recommendations

Nick Mokey
As Digital Trends’ Managing Editor, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team delivering definitive reviews, enlightening…
Samsung adds HW-Q900C to its lineup of 2023 Dolby Atmos soundbars
Samsung 2023 Soundbars.

Samsung has been pretty quiet about its 2023 lineup of Dolby Atmos soundbars since it announced the new collection back at CES 2023, but we finally have all of the models, prices, and features. As we already knew, the latest flagship is the HW-Q990C, a monster 22-driver, 11.1.4-channel system that carries forward the legacy of the HW-Q990B from 2022 -- a soundbar that deeply impressed our reviewer. However, it's now joined by the HW-Q900C -- a more affordable version for folks who don't need the 990C's surround speakers, but who nonetheless may want to add them at a later date.

Also new to the collection are two C-Series models that bring the price of better TV sound down to $200 or less. Here's the full lineup.
Samsung Q-Series Dolby Atmos soundbars
In addition to Dolby Atmos compatibility, Samsung's Q-Series soundbars feature Q-Symphony, a feature that lets a compatible Samsung TV enhance the soundbar's own performance through the use of the TV's built-in speakers. Version 3.0 of Q-Symphony also uses the TV’s sound algorithms to analyze each scene to match the TV and soundbar outputs.

Read more
Samsung TV, projector, soundbar deals land for Memorial Day 2023
The Samsung Q70A Series QLED 4K TV in a living room.

Samsung has already rolled out its offers for Memorial Day, for a head start on those who are itching for shopping for the holiday. You'll be able to enjoy discounts when buying a new TV, projector, or soundbar, but it's highly recommended that you finish your purchases as soon as possible. Check out the deals in Samsung's Memorial Day sale and buy them now when something catches your eye, because stocks of some of these devices may not last through the weekend.

What to buy in the Samsung Memorial Day sale
Samsung sits on top of our list of the best TV brands, so it's understandable that the first section that shoppers will look at in its Memorial Day sale is its TV deals. , which doubles as a 4K TV and as your personal art exhibit when you activate Art Mode, is available with an up to $800 discount, with its 50-inch model down to $1,100 from $1,300 for $200 in savings. There's also a $100 price cut available for the , which features a rotating screen so that you can watch mobile-optimized content on its 43-inch display, bringing its price down to $1,450 from $1,550, while the cheapest option in the sale is the , which will be yours for $900 after a $100 discount on its sticker price of $1,000.

Read more
Huge soundbar sale slashes prices of over 100 models, from $70
Vizio M213AD-K8 M-Series AiO Sound Bar Review

Every home theater setup will benefit from the addition of a soundbar, as it will improve the audio output of your TV. If you're looking for soundbar deals, you may not have to look anywhere else than Best Buy, which is currently hosting a huge sale for products from all of the popular brands like Vizio, JBL, Samsung, and Sony. There are more than 100 options to choose from, starting from as low as $70, but there's no time to waste because we're not sure how long these offers will remain available. Check them out and make your choice as soon as possible.

What to buy in Best Buy's soundbar sale
A highly recommended option in Best Buy's soundbar sale that provides amazing value for money is the . The "2" means that the soundbar has two channels (left and right), while the "1" signifies the presence of a subwoofer, according to our guide on how to buy a soundbar. The soundbar supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio technologies for realistic audio, and because its dual subwoofers are built inside a body that's just over 2 inches in height, it will be easy to find a spot for it near your TV. The Vizio M-Series All-in-One 2.1-channel soundbar is included in our list of the best soundbars as the best option for $200 or less, but with Best Buy's $50 discount, you can get it for just $150.

Read more