IEEE 1394) port. USB2 and Firewire are a couple of very popular ways of connecting various devices to a laptop/desktop like digital cameras, mp3 players, cell phones, etc.
 
Wireless Connectivity: With the advent of wireless networks, it has become almost a necessity that the laptop that you buy has built-in Wi-Fi facility which will help you to surf the web once you are in a Wi-Fi enabled zone. A wireless network card, also called the 802.11 will free you from having to be wired all the time to connect to the internet. It is also beneficial to check whether the laptop has Bluetooth capability or not.
 
Optical Drives: Optical drives like a DVD-player, DVD-writer and Bluray player/ writer are quite useful when you want to burn your data onto a disc (DVD or BluRay) and keep it safe and secure. The optical devices make backing up your important documents, music files, pictures, etc. very easy because of the high capacity of the discs as well as the usability of these devices.
Battery Life: This might not seem as important as other points but you will surely want to look for a laptop which gives you decent to good battery life. A battery that lasts in the long run will help you once you are mobile. If you want to use your laptop for a long duration of time away from a power source, make sure that your laptop has a battery which lasts really long.