One of the largest challenges facing new guitar players starting out is having poor or improperly maintained equipment. In order to make your pratice and playing fun and rewarding, it's important to have the right equipment.
I personally started playing on a Yamaha F310, which I loved. I still have the guitar today and enjoy playing it when I don't need to have an electric acoustic.
The guitar you purchase should have an action (the distance between the strings and the fret board) large enough to develop strength in your fingers and hands, and prevent buzzing, but still close enough to allow you to easly learn runs and make progress playing chords.
Selecting Your Strings
The string material you choose to play is related to the type of music you wish to play. For example, nylon strings are for classical music.
The string weight is a matter of personal preference and the type of sound that you're going for. Beginning guitarists usually do better with lighter weight strings because they are still developing the finger and hand strength needed to get good tones our of heavier ones.