There is a way to get layoutInflater:
LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater) context.getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
and
The only difference is the context that you use. If the context that you use with LayoutInflater.fromContext() or context.getSystemService(...) is actually an Activity, it should be equivalent to Activity.getLayoutInflater(). If it's the application object, you might have problems inflating views that contain fragments, IIRC.