"Unable to continue with activation" error when trying to restore iPhone 3G?

So here's the sticky.
My friends from the Middle East bought me an iPhone 3G. They had taken the SIM out of it.
I connected it to my computer, and backed up all the photos. It was running 4.2.1 (the final version of iOS for 3G). I then downloaded 4.2.1 again from getiOS.net, hoping to rejuvenate the bogged down iPhone with a fresh restore. I connected it to iTunes, selected my downloaded iOS file, and proceeded with the restore.
So it extracts the software fine, the progress bar also shows the restoration and verification going fine, but then when the iPhone reboots it shows a screen which sort of looks like the iTunes recovery mode screen (the wire connected with the iTunes icon) but it also has a popup saying "NO SIM CARD INSTALLED", and on my computer iTunes says, "We are unable to continue with your activation at this time. Please try again later."
So where's my iOS gone?! What happened to my phone? How do I get it back to normal?
Someone suggested putting the phone in actual recovery mode by holding down the home button and connecting it to the computer with iTunes on, but it just showed the restore option again and when I tried the restore again, the same problem happened.
Please think of a solution guys. Is it because there is no SIM inside? Or maybe it's from a different region? Or what?

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