iphone crash combo

hey,

so today my iphone 3gs (5.0.1) turned off and started vibrating for 15min, then stopped.
I connected it to a charger afterwards because my power button doesn't work, ( I normally start my phone that way if it crashes)
but there was no response. The same goes when I tried to connect it to my laptop.

I tried the power button + home button for 10s tip, despite knowing it will probably fail. I also read a bunch of articles about how to enter DFU mode without a power button, but they are not much of a help because iTunes does not see the phone, neither does the laptop ( it doesn't detect it as a data drive).

Any help with this will be highly appreciated.
I usually do not request help before scavaging the internet for possible solutions, but this really seems out of hand.

Thanks a bunch,
andrei