Cell phones dazzle us with their repetoire of high-tech tricks. They can take pictures, read maps, send e-mail and play music.

But one thing remains that I really want out of my cell phone. I wish I could hear it.

I can hear just fine when I’m having a conversation; the problem occurs when I don’t know the crazy little thing is ringing and I go about my merry way, oblivious that anyone is trying to reach me.

The breakdown has nothing to do with my hearing, of course.

At first, I blamed the fact that I carry my phone in my purse while the ringer seems designed for the phone to be carried on your body. But I’ve talked to guys who carry their phones who report they’ve had problems hearing them, too.

If it’s such a widespread problem, there must be money to be made in selling a solution.

I’m offering two suggestions in the hopes that some entrepreneur can make them a reality.

The first idea is a device that would amplify the ringing through the house. We used to have this in the old days. The telephone was bolted to the kitchen wall and when it rang, everyone ran to answer.

You could also put phones in the living room, bedroom and basement so that no matter where you were, you could be alerted that someone wanted to talk to you about vinyl siding.

I’ve tried cranking up the volume while I was at home. Then the next day, the phone would be sitting on my desk and blast out a ring, sending three co-workers ducking for cover.

So I’d turn the sound off, then inevitably forget to turn it back on. Three days later, I’d realize I could have missed dozens of important calls. Not that I ever did, but the potential is there.

My next suggestion is to create ring tones for grown ups. I’ve tried to experiment with different ring tones to see if that would make the phone louder. It already comes with 38 different options, but there are only three that I like. So, I looked at buying a ring tone online.

I steered away from songs, figuring those would be hard to hear. But other options were limited. One whole category was labeled bodily functions. Another trend is to get a celebrity yelling obscenities out of your phone. Which I could probably hear, but why would I want to?

I found exactly two ring tones for grown ups: opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange and the sound of the woods on a summer evening. Like I could hear that working in the garden!

Maybe the best option would be to have my phone calling out, “Can you hear me now?”

Business editor Susan Mires can be reached at susanm@npgco.com.