1. A handheld imaging device, comprising: an image sensor for sensing an image; a micro-controller integrating therein a dedicated image processor for processing the sensed image, a bus interface, and an image sensor interface; and a plurality of processing units connected in parallel by a crossbar switch, the plurality of processing units provided within the micro-controller to form a multi-core processing unit for the processor, wherein the image sensor interface provides communication between the micro-controller and the image sensor, and the bus interface provides communication between the micro-controller and devices external to the micro-controller other than the image sensor.