In this paper we describe an image-based approach to finding location-based information from camera-equipped mobile devices. We introduce a point-by-photograph paradigm, where users can specify a location simply by taking pictures. Our technique uses content-based image retrieval methods to search the web or other databases for matching images and their source pages to find relevant location-based information. In contrast to conventional approaches to location detection, our method can refer to

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... distant locations and does not require any physical infrastructure beyond mobile internet service. We have developed a prototype on a camera phone and conducted user studies to demonstrate the efficacy of our approach compared to a map-based alternative.