What were YOU doing when you were 13? Chances are, you weren’t inventing something that was going to score you $400,000. British newspapers are today reporting that a 13-year-old school boy from Whyteleafe, Surrey in England has invented a device that will ring a home’s doorbell to its occupants cell phones, making a connection that will allow you to speak with someone at your front door over your cell phone, even if you’re on the other side of the world.

Laurence Rook says he got the idea from listening to his mother complain about packages delivered to the front door by the postal service when she was not at home. Rook’s Smart Bell device, which he envisions as an anti-burglary tool, will connect the press of a doorbell to a homeowner or renter’s mobile phone, and then will permit the home’s occupant to communicate with the doorbell presser via an intercom. The background noise from the cellular connection will be easily interpreted as intercom white noise by the individual standing at the front door.

The invention, which uses the phone’s inbuilt SIM card, would also allow homeowners to give instructions to drivers making deliveries at their property, reported the UK newspaper the Daily Mail.

The boy has already sold 20,000 units to British telecom giant Commtel Innovate and is reportedly finalizing a deal with an unnamed second company for a further 25,000 units, said the Daily Mail. The device is expected to sell for about £40 – about $65.50. Once the deal is done, Rook will earn himself £250,000, or about $400,000.

Said Rook, “At first I designed the idea because my mum was fed up going to the Post Office to collect deliveries made when we were not at home. When I started to develop the Smart Bell, I realized it could also be a great burglar deterrent.”

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It’s also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.