The numbers did seem a little low to me in consumption (and certainly their bar graphs are way out), and I took it as granted that they weren't including power up or down times - you're certainly very right in saying that there isn't enough detail given for consumption.

I'll take it on the chin, but just say that in my experience in my previous job, I firmware-tested and provisioned 3G modems for low-power usage in remote telemetry units. Not an EE myself, I worked closely with them, and when they were looking for replacement modems from various vendors to replace an end-of-life model, the primary (relevant) stat listed and discussed was mA rather than joules - it seemed normal to me that mA was acceptable to mention for the task.

Sorry for the delayed comment - HN speed-post limitation.