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The rPi options are really just a way of using a small, low power PC on the mount to control the mount and camera/guider etc, and you still need an eqdirect style cable to connect it to the mount.
It is completely possible to buy a Pi and homebrew a linux build and all the associated software to build your own version of an Asiair or Stellarmate box, what ZWO and Stellarvue are selling there is the convenience of a pre built operating system ready to do the job straight out of the box. I looked at one point at doing what Carlton did and buying the software and sourcing a Pi locally but there was actually not a whole lot of money in it at the time.
The whole Asiair/Stellarmate setup does exactly the same job as the Intel NUC I have on my mount, they would be much slower for image download, plate solving etc, but the cost of a ready built Pi solution is about a third of what I spent on the NUC.
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