title_body: Are there any ebook readers which are NOT backlit, but for which you can upload pdfs? I love my iPad Mini Retina, but reading on it for hours bugs my eyes! :(
  
  My mom has the basic Kobo reader, and I envy her in that it possesses no backlight, and is ergo, easier on the eyes!
  
  However, she is limited to what books she must find on the Kobo library.
  
  And so I'm just wondering if there are any e-readers out there, which are not 'locked' to any platform, and for which I might view/upload my own PDFs?
  
  Or if there is any way to 'hack'/'jailbreak' a Kobo reader?
upvoted_answer: There is no need to 'hack' or 'jailbreak' a Kobo reader&mdash;they can read PDFs natively. The following comes from their site:
  
  
    You'll find some differences when you're reading PDF books compared to
    regular books, including the option to read in landscape orientation,
    and to zoom in on the page.
    
    Here are some things you can't do with a PDF book: Select text Add
    highlights Look up words in the dictionary Change the text size or
    style
  
  
  This applies to Kobo Mini, Kobo Original / Kobo Wifi, Kobo Touch, Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura HD, Kobo Aura, and Kobo Aura H20.
  
  Also on their site, there are instructions for how to load a PDF onto a Kobo Original:
  
  
    The Kobo Wireless and Kobo Original eReaders support documents in PDF
    format.
    
    You can transfer them to your eReader:
    
    By drag-and-drop On an SD card If your PDFs are protected by Adobe
    DRM, you must use Adobe Digital Editions to transfer them to your
    eReader.
  
  
  For use with the SD card:
  
  
    If your PDFs are not protected by Adobe DRM, you can transfer them to
    your eReader using a SD card.
    
    Insert the SD card with the PDF files on it into your eReader's SD
    card slot. Turn on your eReader. Wait for your eReader to process the
    content. Find the documents under Documents.
  
  
  while for drag and drop:
  
  
    Connect your eReader to your computer using the USB cable. 
    
    On your eReader select Manage Library. 
    
    Press the centre of the Navigation pad.
    
    Open Finder (on a Macintosh computer) or Explorer (on a Windows
    computer), and look for KOBOeReader. This may be listed as a hard
    drive or as a removable storage device.
    
    In another Finder or Explorer window, locate the files you want 
    to transfer. Drag these files to KOBOeReader. You can now eject 
    your eReader and read your documents.
  
  
  Since PDF is now a standard, most e-readers support it, so Kobo is not unique in this regard&mdash;Kindle and Nook both read PDFs as well. Also, you might check out the sidelighing of the Kobo Glo&mdash;it's not at all bright or glaring, but offers comfortable reading in any light level. Looks really nice&mdash;my mom loves hers.