The attraction of the plug-in mobile internet broadband devices has declined steadily since 2008, when 20% of consumers said they would consider buying the device.
YouGov's research quizzed 3,914 adults, of whom almost half used a dongle or similar device to get mobile broadband.
The rise of the smartphone has effectively killed the dongle and its appeal.
Russell Feldman, associate director for technology and telecoms consulting at YouGov, said: "The dongle-based broadband market still has a loyal, often business-focused user base, but with an increase in Wi-Fi availability and the emergence of competing access devices that offer greater portability, it is likely that the dongle will continue to decline in relative importance."
Smartphone penetration has doubled since December 2009, with 35% of the online population now owning a smartphone.
For those with both smartphones and dongles, the smartphone has taken over – 43% use their smartphone more than their mobile broadband device, and only 6% use their dongle-based mobile broadband in preference to a smartphone.
The smartphone has proved an increasingly essential item. The research suggests that of those planning to buy a phone in the future, 60% said their next handset would be a smartphone. In addition, 97% of current smartphone users said they would buy another.
The group's TabletTrack study shows that almost one in eight of the population want to use a tablet device, with the Apple iPad the preferred model. People preferred the 3G model that uses 3G mobile internet.
according to its interim results, published last week.
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