I bought Xiaomi Redmi 1S for my dad last year during one of their flash sales. His older phone was getting older but he also did not want to use a touch screen phone. But I managed to convince him to use this phone.
I changed its UI to lite mode where it looks like a mix between android and windows phone. In lite mode everything gets its own tiles and is very easy to use. This feature greatly helped my dad transition from a button phone to a touch-screen phone.
When it comes to performance, it is a beat of a device.
Screen: It has a 4.7" screen with~312 ppi pixel density, which is really amazing for a phone in this price range. You feel the difference of higher ppi while watching movies
Battery: Has a 2000 mAh battery and lasts over 1 day on regular use.
Camera: Takes decent pictures, nothing great to talk about but nothing to complaint as well.
Cons: The only issue I felt is that it gets a bit hot around its camera even during normal usage.
Verdict: True value for money!