The frame itself, although heavy, looked very sturdy. The welds looked well done and very strong. This is not to say the frame is beautiful, actually far from it. The frame is however functional and utilitarian. The pedals are...cheap. They would be well worth replacing relatively soon.
The wheels, another expensive portion of any bicycle, need some work. Anyone who chose to buy this bicycle would need them trued. I checked both Pavers that Wal-Mart had on the rack and all four wheels were well out of true. Not only that, it did seem some of the spokes were lose. I would say a full truing and tensioning would do the trick. If your friend does not have a truing stand, I recommend your LBS. My LBS will true wheels for $10. That would be money well spent. The bike that I removed from the rack actually had the front wheel slanted or cocked in one direction. This is a testament to the assembly quality, or lack of quality. Fortunately you are going the "build it yourself" route. I couldn't quite tell if the wheel (the front wheel in this case) was put on wrong or if there was something wrong with the hub. The lineup of the axle looked OK but the wheel was very noticeably slanted. I really think it was bad installation. The wheels did look functional, they will just require major tweaking. Hopefully your friend has a truing stand so he can show you how to do that. In the future you will be able to make rough adjustments using the brakes on the bicycle. Also of interesting note is that these brakes were adjusted to actually stop the bike. This assembler must have been scolded to make sure that happened. However, he slanted the brakes to match the slant of the wheel, doh! Again, buying an assembled bicycle from Wal-Mart does not seem like an intelligent idea.
The rack seemed sturdy and the bicycle had fender mounts as well. Both of these features are good for a commuter type bicycle. The site indicates it has 700x35c tires. It is actually 700x45c. The tread pattern looked OK for road use, smooth in the middle with a little bit of grip on the outsides. I would recommend upgrading the tires to something Kevlar based and narrow, like a 700x32c. I run Specialized Borough Armadillo Elites on my commuter in 700x32c. Obviously a pair of these is the same cost of the bike. There are cheaper Kevlar tires out there though and whatever you buy can be transfered from bicycle to bicycle.
The saddle was not half bad. I sat on the bicycle, though I didn't ride it. It felt OK for a beginner saddle. More than likely after several miles you would want to replace it with something more fitting. I run a Brooks B17 on my commuter. Some people are against Brooks some are for, the saddle is the most "specialized to your body" part on the bicycle. You will definitely go through a few before you find the one you love. Again, this is a piece you can transfer from bicycle to bicycle. In fact, if you fall in love with the saddle on the Paver you are welcome to transfer that! The handlebars are definitely unique. They allowed for a very upright riding position. I would need to ride the bike for twenty or so miles before I could really get a feel for them. More than likely I'd swap them out with a flat bar or Nashbar's Trekking Handlebar. The brake levers were fine, pretty much standard fare here. The SRAM grip shift is also low end but adequate. I do mean adequate too, there are much worse shifting mechanisms out there. Some people (not me) even prefer grip shifters. Speaking of shifting, the bicycle shifted fine. The rear derailleur may die sooner than later but a half way decent one will run you $25-30. I think you'd get a couple seasons out of this one given what you describe as your intended use. The chain looked sturdy and the cassette definitely has mountain bike gearing. However, as you are just starting out I don't foresee you running out of gears right away.
Well, that is my take on this rig. If I was going to buy it I'd swap the Tires, saddle, pedals and add fenders. That may triple the cost of the bike but those parts can be moved on to the next one. This bike is really more of a quicker mountain bike or a slower hybrid bike. There are actually full suspension mountain bikes lighter than this beast but at several times the cost. Given your intended use however, I don't think weight will be much of an issue.
I hope my little run down helps. Good luck with your new ride!
~Podolak