iphone locked on iphone reset screen

hi folks.

Problem. My Iphone 3G crashed while adding a new app while attached to itunes. The iphone screen went to the apple symbol as if doing a reset. Since then it just won't fire up. Resetting it again just brings up the apple logo on the screen. Reconnecting to itunes just causes itunes to beach ball (the phone itself double vibrates after about 5 minutes attached to itunes) and then nothing - still on the apple logo.

I've tried connecting it to my mac laptop and when I do that I get a warning saying that the phone is locked and I need to enter my password.... but of course as the screen is on the apple symbol I can't type in my four digit password.

I'm leaving the phone attached to my mac for the rest of the evening in the hope that it finally sorts itself out (but probably all I'm going to achieve is burning the apple logo into the screen......)

Anyone had the same problem. It's a 16Gb Iphone 3G....