IoT: "Meadow" .NET solution platform device

Interesting and a bit unusual IoT solution, not based on Linux, but on .NET (mono) running on SoC (System on a Chip)

IoT and .NET with Bryan Costanich @ .NET Rocks! vNext

The Future is Tiny – Bryan Costanich – Medium

bryan costanich | LinkedIn

Wilderness Labs on GitHub 

Meadow Kickstarter
$50

"The power of Raspberry Pi in the computing factor of an Arduino, and the manageability of a mobile app."

ESP32 SoC

Micro-Controller Operating Systems - Wikipedia

RaspberryPI 

Azure Sphere 

Ring

Particle

besides being more battery efficient,
SoC is very cost effective for embedded solutions, here are base prices:

Amazon.com: Espressif ESP32 ESP32-DEVKITC inc ESP-WROOM-32 soldered dils CE FCC Fresh Stock: Office Products
$12.95

ESP32 | Mouser Electronics, Inc.
$3