I won't argue the finer points of small welders and their usage in learning how to weld.
But, I learned to weld in what we called 'Fix Baker's shit class', or High School welding class. Our instructor Mr. Baker used to bring in his farm equipment for us to 'learn' on. Lots and lots of buzzbox time.
I was in much the same boat as dzraces , 'gift cards/wanna buy something cool for myself'. And I had always wanted to learn wire/MIG welding.
For the user that said 'it can't even weld jewelery'. A pic is worth 10000 posts.
All the welding is done with my little 80 amp HF special.
Look it can even make its own carrier.
Thats just two of the things I have used it for.
Like I posted before, don't expect it to be something its not. You'll be served very well that way.
No, it won't be able to weld up bumpers, or cages, or axles, or alot of heavy stuff. But having a nice low range has its advantages when you are trying to weld thin materials.
The wire used can make a LARGE difference in the welds also. Don't go exotic on wire, unless you need it. I use E71T-GS regularly in mine and it works fine in most situations I find.